Kafka Connector Guide > Kafka Connections and Processes > Kafka Connection Properties
  

Kafka Connection Properties

When you select Kafka as the connection type, you can configure Kafka-specific connection properties on the Properties tab of the connection creation page.

Connection Settings

You must specify the Kafka host and Kafka port that you want to connect to. You can also enable SSL authentication and SASL authentication.
The following table defines the Kafka connection properties that you must configure in the Connection Settings section:
Property
Description
Kafka Host
Required. The primary Kafka host that the Secure Agent or the Cloud Server must connect to with a TCP connection.
Kafka Port
Required. The primary Kafka port number that the Secure Agent or the Cloud Server must connect to with a TCP connection.
Additional Kafka Brokers
Comma-separated list of the Kafka brokers that the Secure Agent must connect to with a TCP connection.
Enter the host name or IP address of the system where the Kafka broker is running and a port number without any space in the following format:
<host_name>:<port_number> or <IP_address>:<port_number>
For example, CAI1A:9090,CAI2A:9091,10.75.167.66:9092,10.75.167.67:9093
Other Attributes
Optional. A list of common Apache Camel configuration properties to connect to the Kafka brokers.
Specify the properties in key-value pairs. Separate multiple properties with an ampersand character (&) without any space.
For example, enter the following phrase to specify the client ID of the application making request and to use batching for processing or streaming:
clientId=client123&batching=false
If you want to set additional properties for a Kafka consumer or Kafka producer that you can't set directly in the Camel configuration, prefix the properties with additionalProperties.
For example, additionalProperties.transactional.id=12345
For more information about the properties that you can specify, see the Apache Camel documentation.
Use SSL
Optional. Determines whether SSL authentication must be used.
Default is No.
Use SASL
Optional. Determines whether SASL authentication must be used.
To configure Kerberos authentication for the Kafka client, select Yes.
Default is No.

SSL Settings

You can configure SSL authentication to encrypt and securely transfer data between a Kafka producer, Kafka consumer, and a Kafka cluster. When you configure SSL authentication, a Certificate Authority signs and issues a certificate to the Kafka client. The Kafka broker uses the certificate to verify the identity of the client.
Informatica recommends that if you are connecting to a Kafka broker that is published on the Cloud Server, you must configure SSL authentication.
If you enable SSL authentication, you must configure the following authentication properties in the SSL Settings section:
Property
Description
SSL Truststore Location
The absolute path and file name of the truststore file on the Secure Agent machine that contains the SSL certificate to establish two-way secure communication with the Kafka broker.
For example: C:/SSL/Certs_208/icrt-truststore.jks
If you choose to run the Kafka connection on the Cloud Server, you must save the truststore file of the JKS (Java KeyStore) format on your local machine. Use the Choose File option to select the truststore file. The maximum allowed file size is 50 KB.
SSL Truststore Password
The password for the truststore file that contains the SSL certificate.
SSL Keystore Location
The absolute path and file name of the keystore file on the Secure Agent machine that contains the keys and certificates required to establish a two-way secure communication with the Kafka broker.
For example: C:/SSL/Keys/icrt-keystore.jks
If you choose to run the Kafka connection on the Cloud Server, you must save the keystore file of the JKS (Java KeyStore) format on your local machine. Use the Choose File option to select the keystore file. The maximum allowed file size is 50 KB.
SSL Keystore Password
The password for the keystore file required for secure communication.
SSL Key Password
The SSL key password of the client.

SASL Settings

You can configure SASL authentication so that the Kafka broker can authenticate the Kafka producer and the Kafka consumer. Kafka uses the Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) for SASL authentication. To enable SASL authentication, you must specify the SASL mechanism that the Kafka broker must use for authentication. Based on the SASL mechanism value you specify, you must also provide the formatted JAAS configuration that the Kafka broker must use for authentication.
You can configure Kerberos authentication for a Kafka client by placing the required Kerberos configuration files on the Secure Agent machine and specifying the required JAAS configuration in the Kafka connection. The JAAS configuration defines the keytab and principal details that the Kafka broker must use to authenticate the Kafka client.
Note: The Kerberos server where the Kafka cluster is running and the Process Server must use the same time zone. Otherwise, an error occurs when producing a message.
If you enable SASL authentication, you must configure the following authentication properties in the SASL Settings section:
Property
Description
SASL Mechanism
The SASL mechanism that the Kafka broker must use to authenticate the Kafka producer and the Kafka consumer.
Enter one of the following values:
  • - PLAIN. Use this value to configure plain SASL authentication for the Kafka client.
  • - GSSAPI. Use this value to configure Kerberos authentication for the Kafka client.
Default is PLAIN.
Jaas Config
The formatted JAAS configuration that the Kafka broker must use to authenticate the Kafka producer and the Kafka consumer.
To use the PLAIN SASL mechanism, you must specify the user name and password to connect to Kafka in the JAAS configuration as shown in the following example:
org.apache.kafka.common.security.plain.PlainLoginModule required username="<value>" password="<value>";
To configure Kerberos authentication for the Kafka client, you must specify the keytab and principal details in the JAAS configuration as shown in the following example:
com.sun.security.auth.module.Krb5LoginModule required useKeyTab=true storeKey=true keyTab="<path and file name of the keytab file on the Secure Agent machine>" serviceName="kafka" principal="kafka/<host_name>";